New to town
by Moonwillow
Summary: What would you do if you were chucked through time, all because of a couple of young and curious wizards? What if you found out you were a witch as well? Well, blimey- Sophia Bonchance has to deal with all this and more!
1. Ch 1

Ch. 1

When one thinks of the 19th century, what comes to mind? Probably stuffy ladies sitting in parlours, sipping their tea, embroidering useless handkerchiefs, as their husbands discuss the burdens of being the reigning gender over cigars and brandy. Before World War I, before television, before Beauxbatons (although Hogwarts had been around for ages), there was Sophia. Young women of this time went to school to be of some amusement to their husbands. There were precious few female philosophers, authors, scientists, et cetera. Yet there were a few who broke the pattern; one in particular was eighteen year old Sophia Bonchance.

A young woman with her long dark curls pinned up in a reluctant bun sat on the balcony of her home in Paris, overlooking the well manicured streets of the well-to-do area of the city. An easel with a blank canvas and a pallet stood beside her, waiting for her. After staring off into the street for a few minutes, Sophia picked up her paintbrush between slender, graceful fingers, and dipped it into the paint. She lost herself in her work, and did not even hear the footsteps of her father behind her. Eventually, the sun began to set, and Sophia carefully draped a cloth over her painting to keep it safe. She walked to the edge of the balcony and leaned against it, studying the inhabitants of this lovely city. Only now did she sense some one behind her. "Da, do you think I'll ever fit in?" she asked him in her native tongue. The aging man with salt-and-pepper hair gave a slightly sad smile and replied "I don't believe so, my dear…" He looked her in the eyes, with a great degree of warmth. "But would you really want to, Sweet?" Their matching sapphire eyes twinkled, and Sophia grinned. "Never." She wasn't sure they were talking about the same thing- sure, she was odd, but her Da had no idea… Sophia made things happen- strange things… Putting it out of her mind, she smiled and patted her father's hand.

Although the Bonchance family was very wealthy, and Henri was a very influential man in the French social circles, the small family was rarely called upon. Sophia was odd- and therefore her father was odd for letting her be so unusual. Henri had also never remarried after the death of his wife- he never got over her. Annabella Bonchance had been weak- she had never been healthy; her second child was to be the death of her. She died in childbirth, and Henri's wife and newborn son never saw another day. So for the last ten years, father and daughter had become a team- leaning on each other for support, helping each other.

Many wealthy metropolitan families do not allow their servants to eat with them- the Bonchances insisted upon it. Mealtimes were happy and carefree, and that was the way they liked it. So when Sophia left the table that night, everyone wished her a good night, and her father kissed the top of her head. In her room, Mary, Sophia's maid, helped her undress and take down her hair, and do all the other necessities for nighttime. She banked the fire, and opened the windows to let the cool summer night breeze in. Sophia drifted off into sleep with a smile on her face.

Toward midnight, storm clouds began boiling over the city, and heavy drops of rain began to fall almost immediately. That didn't wake Sophia up- the hands did. Wisps of smoke that were oddly solid grabbed her arms and before she even had time to fight, or scream, or be surprised in the slightest, she was gone.

The nest morning, Sophia awoke, lying on the floor in a heap, with a head she would not wish on her worst enemy, and a body that felt as if wild horses had stampeded over her. When she groggily opened her eyes everything was strange- the furniture was completely alien, and there were strange contraptions and devices strewn about the room. It hit her- she had been kidnapped! Warily, she surveyed her body, and found the lacy, floor length nightgown she had fallen asleep in. Giving her arm a strong pinch, her sapphire eyes darted around the strange place to look for her captors, and, finding none, she crept to the door. A silver candlestick holder caught her attention, and she grabbed for use as a weapon. Her long, chocolate hair had fallen out of its braid during the night, and it swirled in dark curls at her waist, giving her the appearance of an Amazon princess or the like.

Steeling herself for the confrontation, she moved into the next room, where she found more strange items. Her head spun as she stood, but she quickly forgot about it when she heard male voices coming her way. "…Should've known it'd be a dud- George gave it to me, after all…" As soon as she caught a glimpse of movement, she swung the candlestick down with as much force as she could muster, and heard a solid ithwump/i as it collided with someone's head. Although she was livid at being kidnapped, she still hoped she hadn't killed him.

She hefted her makeshift weapon and directed her gaze at the one standing man. He looked to be about her age… goodness, they started the criminal life young these days! She took a deep breath to calm her nerves, and said with an steely edge to her voice "Who are you- and where am I!" she hadn't meant to let that drop of panic into her voice, but she could only hope this ruffian hadn't noticed. The young man with jet black hair and emerald eyes behind round glasses raised both hands slightly, as if in surrender. "Je ne parler pas francais," he said in broken French. With perfect but heavily accented English, she said "Oh- Where am I- release me at once!" The look of confusion on his face brought one of similar uncertainty to Sophia's own. "Release- bloody hell! You attacked US, lady! Who are you!" Her eyes narrowed dangerously- if this was an attempt to cover his crime- but he looked genuinely puzzled and upset. She lowered the candlestick holder slightly, and with her free hand tugged on a lock of hair. "My name- is Sophia Bonchance, but you- I- huh?" She sunk into a nearby chair, startled by it's strange shape.

She looked up to see the man crossing his arms over his chest. "I went to sleep in my home, and now, I am here- wait a moment- where iis/i here!" The young man was bending down to check on his friend, who awoke when shaken and doused with water. Suddenly, he gasped, and looked at his friend. "Oh my God… Ron, it- it worked. It brought…." The tall red head she had knocked unconscious was rubbing his head tenderly, when he stopped and stared at Sophia in shock. "Harry… uh-oh." Harry stared at Sophia. "Where are you from?" Sophia answered slowly. "Paris…" Harry nodded. "And, er- when?" She opened her mouth to reply, but stopped, giving them a curious look. "Humor me." She shrugged. She was in the presence of two people as crazy as herself. "Septemer, 1805. Why?" Ron swallowed hard. "It's 2003- and you're in London." Ron gazed off into the distance. "Why? Why us?" he asked the ceiling. "The first new spell we try out of Hogwarts, and we get this!" The man called Harry shot a silencing glare at Ron, and Sophia could just hear him mutter "Shut it, man! We don't know if she's a bloody muggle!" Spell? Hogwarts? Muggle? And then it hit her- 2003? She jumped up and ran to a nearby window, yanking the strange curtains out of her way. With a single gasp, she turned back toward the two young men and dropped in a dead faint.


	2. ch 2

Ch. 2

"Where is she?" "What happened" "How are we going to tell-" "SOPHIA!" Lord Bonchance stood in the doorway of his daughter's room, clinging to the frame as if it were a life raft. "Where is my daughter!" his voice was ragged and low, with a dangerous edge. No one had heard him use that tone before. Mary, Sophia's maid, stepped forward, head lowered. "Sir, she disappeared in the night… We searched the house-" A broken voice emerged from Henri's lips "Why didn't anyone wake me?" Without waiting for another word, he turned on his heel and strode downstairs, looking particularly insane in his pale blue night robe. He didn't bother to get dressed, but rather went straight to the stable and mounted a random horse bareback. He took off just as a sleepy hostler entered the stable.

Harry and Ron hurried over to the fallen woman and hoisted her up, carrying her over to the couch. "Harry, what are we going to do!" Harry looked hopelessly from the door to the fireplace. We could go to Flourish and Blotts… maybe look for a reversal?" Ron nodded reluctantly. "But they're bound to get suspicious- and I'm sure we broke one law or another." Harry sat down hard on a chair. "Probably more than a few." Inspiration struck. "What about George! He gave us the spell, he can help us reverse it!" Ron considered it, and agreed. "He'll never let us live this one down," he said glumly.

The constable couldn't do anything. The mayor of Paris couldn't do anything. If he had been able, he would have marched over and seen Napoleon himself! Henri would have to do it himself. He was still in a state of shock, even as he entered the sprawling office of Paris' best private investigator. He told the man everything he knew, everything he didn't know, anything that could help. He was glad and slightly surprised he hadn't broken down altogether and wept on this man's Persian rug. The investigator promised to do anything and everything he could- for a price, of course. Henri readily agreed.

Ron apparated to his brothers' joke shop in Diagon Alley, and a few minutes later he was back with a _pop!_ signifying his arrival. "So, what's the deal?" Harry asked nervously. Ron took a deep breath. "He said bring her over… we'll have to take the tube. Damn, I hate muggle transportation." Harry shrugged- he didn't mind it much. "We'll have to wake her ladyship up," he said lightly. Pulling out his wand, he muttered _Enervate_ and Sophia opened up her sapphire eyes. "It was real, eh?" Both Harry and Ron nodded in glum unison. "We're going to see his brother," Harry jerked his head towards Ron. "He might be able to help. But, we're going to have to- well, this'll really freak you out, but it's ok- anyway, try not to faint. Sophia steeled herself for whatever horrors awaited her once she stepped out of this dream-like room. "Wait!" She flung a hand up. The two young men looked at her expectantly. "I- I can't go out there like this. I mean, I shouldn't-" What was she talking about! Two complete- male- strangers had seen her in her nightgown! Sophia may have been a liberal, but proper is proper, and she was never indecent. Ron cocked a fiery eyebrow and rushed off into his room for a minute. He had a pale blue dress, about knee length, on a hanger. "It's Scarlet's," he said by way of explanation. Sophia had never seen anything like it. She merely looked up at him with a puzzled expression. "Where's the rest of it?"

Sitting in the study, a bottle of brandy on the desk, Henri moped. He didn't even bother getting a glass to drown his sorrows- the bottle would do just fine. Having not touched booze in over a decade, the sudden disappearance of his beloved Sophie pushed him toward the liquor cabinet Why him? First God had taken his wife, his love, his friend, and now He had taken away his daughter? Henri made a terribly rude gesture to the ceiling, and hiccupped. Where had everything gone so wrong? His only hope now was the investigator- God had clearly shown the poor man He didn't like him very much- and Henri had returned the favor. Back to his booze…

Tugging on the bottom of the horrifically short dress, Sophia was not in the slightest bit comforted by the two men assuring her it was fine, that a knee length dress was _more_ than decent in this day and age. She had on black boots with a thick heel- also Ron's lover's- and she couldn't stop goggling. Goodness, everything was so strange, so alien, so mystifying; it was much like the year she had spent in India- upon first arrival, everything stupefied her. She loved it there. But this- this was different. Strange things scurried around the crowded streets… everything was loud… whoa! She stepped out off of the strange grey path and was nearly run over by one of the cataclysmic contraptions. "Oh- that would be a 'car'. And don't step out in front of it, if you please- they usually don't stop." Sophia nodded wordlessly in the direction of Ron. Ron! Harry! Oh no! Where were they! A strong hand grabbed her wrist, and before she had a chance to fight back, she was on a less crowded rock-path. "Not much further, Sophia."

A split-second later, it seemed, they were hurrying down stairs. Harry gave a handful of coins to an elderly man in a window randomly set into the wall…The three of them suddenly stood in front of a vast, metal snake… this was too much! "It's a bit like a train… you have those, eh?" Sophia looked puzzled. "A what?" Harry shook his head. "Nah, Ron, trains didn't really come into play until the 1850's." He gave a hearty wink to Sophia. "Tell your father to invest in trains- there gonna be big!" Sophia couldn't help but smile.


End file.
